Search form

9/11 Education Materials

The Pentagon Memorial Fund is dedicated to offering valuable educational resources and materials surrounding the events of September 11, 2001 and the historic significance of the Pentagon Memorial. You can search the resources by keyword, grade level, subject, or specific resource type. To expand your search results to include the Verizon Thinkfinity community, please check the Thinkfinity box within the search field.

This is a classroom resource kit that contains 8 videos. Each story is accompanied by discussion questions that guide students to connect outcomes of the historic events of September 11th to the choices they make in their own lives. The Tribute WTC Visitor Center classroom resources provide historic context, research links, and community service projects for each story.

Please click hereto access the online version of the toolkit which includes the videos for each unit. Please visit their website for additional resources and information.

This lesson plan emphasizes the sequence of events that occurred before, during and after 9/11 to help increase students’ basic knowledge while correcting inaccuracies and misunderstandings. Although the activity centers on comprehension of this tragedy, it also encourages students to recognize the great courage exhibited on the day and during the days after 9/11 as well as evaluate how the country has changed since the attacks.This lesson is provided by the 9/11 National Day of Service and a partnership between My Good Deed and the 4 Action Initiative. Please visit their website for additional information and resources.

In this lesson, students will read Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey and then discuss 9/11 and its relationship to the story. Students will explore the meaning of the word hero and identify courageous traits, eventually evaluating why the fireboat’s adventures were heroic. This lesson is provided by the 9/11 National Day of Service and a partnership between My Good Deed and the 4 Action Initiative. Please visit their website for additional information and resources.

In this lesson, students will read accounts of 9/11 from a firefighter’s point of view and then will examine 9/11 through the eyes of other emergency personnel, including firefighters, police officers and other uniformed individuals. This lesson is provided by the 9/11 National Day of Service and a partnership between My Good Deed and the 4 Action Initiative. Please visit their website for additional information and resources.

In this activity, children and adults will learn about the outfit used by a firefighter on September 11, 2001. Children will then think about the ways they help in their own communities and imagine an outfit that would assist them with those jobs.

These lesson plans and activities were developed by the PMF Educators' Leadership Group as a companion to the Pentagon Memorial Fund documentary entitled, “A Nation Remembers,” which tells the story of the construction of the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial. Please click here to view the “A Nation Remembers” documentary.

These materials focus on the construction methods and symbolism found at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial as well as the family members impacted by the events on September 11, 2001 in an effort to help students understand the idea of memorialization and the importance of remembering certain events. This section of the guide best complements the documentary from 34 minutes, 59 seconds through 45 minutes, 18 seconds, with information about the architects, construction techniques, and symbolism to be found at 47 minutes, 35 seconds; 48 minutes, 40 seconds; and 49 minutes, 36 seconds respectively). For the most comprehensive understanding, the documentary should be viewed from 34 minutes, 59 seconds through 53 minutes, 39 seconds.

These lesson plans and activities were developed by the PMF Educators' Leadership Group as a companion to the Pentagon Memorial Fund documentary entitled, “A Nation Remembers,” which tells the story of the construction of the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.

These lesson plans and activities focus on the ‘everyday heroes’—people who worked at the Pentagon and helped with the rescue operations, those involved as first responders, and the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the attack. These materials best complement the documentary from 45 minutes, 19 seconds through 53 minutes, 39 seconds. For the most comprehensive understanding of the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial and those affected by the attack, view the documentary from 34 minutes, 59 seconds through 53 minutes, 39 seconds.

This is Unit 6 from the September 11th Personal Stories of Transformation toolkit.After September 11th, many Arab, South Asian and Muslim communities in America felt under attack. This community organizer worked to help them. The full classroom resource kit contains 8 videos. Each story is accompanied by discussion questions that guide students to connect outcomes of the historic events of September 11th to the choices they make in their own lives. These materials are provided courtesy of The Tribute WTC Visitor Center. These classroom resources provide historic context, research links, and community service projects for each story.

Please click here to access the online version of the toolkit and choose Unit 6 from the "Story Selection" menu which includes Mohammad Razvi's video. Please visit their website for additional information and resources.

This is Unit 8 from the September 11th Personal Stories of Transformation toolkit. Jim and Gordon lost their brothers, one in the attack on the Pentagon and one on Flight 93. Each took leadership roles in building memorials that pay tribute to the attacks on the nation and the lives lost.The full classroom resource kit contains 8 videos. Each story is accompanied by discussion questions that guide students to connect outcomes of the historic events of September 11th to the choices they make in their own lives. These materials are provided courtesy of The Tribute WTC Visitor Center. These classroom resources provide historic context, research links, and community service projects for each story.

Please click here to access the online version of the toolkit and choose Unit 8 from the "Story Selection" menu which includes Jim's and Gordon's videos. Please visit their website for additional information and resources.

In this lesson, students will understand how vital communication and team work are in the time of a crisis. They will understand the importance of training and preparedness and how federal, state, and local agencies work together in response to disasters using ICS and NIMS. This lesson is provided by the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. For additional information and for the resources, please visit their website.

In this lesson, students will understand the concept of habeas corpus and its impact on the death penalty appeal process. They will be able to explain the impact of the legislation discussed and understand their rights as citizens to change or propose laws and the process by which such change can be accomplished legally and without violence.This lesson is provided by the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Please visit their site for additonal information.

This is Unit 5 from the September 11th Personal Stories of Transformation toolkit. Susan Retik is a widow from Boston who lost her husband on American Airlines Flight 11. She and another September 11th widow started an organization to aid widows in Afghanistan. The full classroom resource kit contains 8 videos. Each story is accompanied by discussion questions that guide students to connect outcomes of the historic events of September 11th to the choices they make in their own lives. These materials are provided courtesy of The Tribute WTC Visitor Center. These classroom resources provide historic context, research links, and community service projects for each story.

Please click here to access the online version of the toolkit and choose Unit5 from the "Story Selection" menu which includes Susan's video. Please visit their website for additional information and resources.

J . Alexander Thier discusses the history and population of Afghanistan, as well as the country’s changing role in both the emergence and combating of terrorism. hier is Director of the Future of Afghanistan Project at the U.S. Institute for Peace in Washington, DC, and a former legal advisor to the Afghan government. Please click here to view the webcast interview. These materials are presented by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Please visit their website for additional information and resources.

David Ottaway is a former foreign correspondent for the Washington Post. After 35 years with the Post, Ottaway is now a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC, and author of the book, The King’s Messenger: Prince Bandar bin Sultan and America’s Tangled Relationship with Saudi Arabia. Please click here to view the webcast interview. These materials are presented by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Please visit their website for additional information and resources.for additional information.

Dr. Paul Lioy is a professor and the Vice Chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He is also the Director of Exposure Science at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers University and author of the book, Dust: The Inside Story of its Role in the September 11 Aftermath. Please click here to view the webcast interview. These materials are presented by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Please visit their website for additional information and resources.